Nanostructure, mechanical and tribological properties of reactive magnetron sputtered TiCx coatings

Structure and mechanical properties of low temperature magnetron sputtered nanocrystalline (nc-)Ti(N,C)/amorphous diamond like carbon (a-C:H) coatings

“…In Figure 3 corresponds to Ti-C bonding [9]. Hence the nanocrystalline phase being formed in these coatings is actually Ti(N,C).…”

“…Hence the nanocrystalline phase being formed in these coatings is actually Ti(N,C). The small carbon component is approximately 1 eV higher than the Ti-C peak (component B) and corresponds to carbon atoms located at the edge of the Ti(N,C) crystallites [9,21]. At 282.2 eV, the Ti-C binding energy is higher than that for pure TiC/a-C:H coatings [9,20] since this corresponds to carbon incorporated into TiN, to form Ti(N,C), and the presence of the more electronegative nitrogen in the local environment causes the binding energy of the carbon to increase slightly.…”

“…The small carbon component is approximately 1 eV higher than the Ti-C peak (component B) and corresponds to carbon atoms located at the edge of the Ti(N,C) crystallites [9,21]. At 282.2 eV, the Ti-C binding energy is higher than that for pure TiC/a-C:H coatings [9,20] since this corresponds to carbon incorporated into TiN, to form Ti(N,C), and the presence of the more electronegative nitrogen in the local environment causes the binding energy of the carbon to increase slightly. As the C/Ti ratio increases, the intensity of this Ti-C component apparently decreases (Figure 3), but the carbon concentration in the coatings is actually rising and analysis of the peak fits shows that in fact the total amount of C bonded to Ti (component A + component B) remains at between 14 and 16 at.…”

“…Previous work on the TiC x system demonstrates that a desirable improvement in wear performance (sliding and abrasion) is provided for coatings containing 45 to 65 at. % C [8,9]. Stoichiometric TiC is also achieved at flow rates between 40 and 50 sccm acetylene.…”

Mechanical and high pressure tribological properties of nanocrystalline Ti(N,C) and amorphous C:H nanocomposite coatings

“…Such nanocomposite structures can offer low friction against steel counterparts (diesel nozzles, Cr-Mo implant alloys) and could negate the need for a hard ceramic load support layer. Nanocomposites with an a-C:H content between 30 to 50 at % a were specifically targeted in order to form a nanocomposite structure containing small (5-10 nm) nanocrystallites surrounded by 1 monolayer of a-C:H, to enhance the mechanical properties [11]. A process temperature of below 250 o C was selected to avoid tempering of the heat treated 100Cr6 substrate.…”